1. Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to a soldering station and more particularly to a new soldering station, which allows an operator to continuously dispense different sizes of solders or copper de-solder braids with one hand while using the other hand to operate a soldering iron during soldering operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In manufacturing electronic products, different sizes of electronic and mechanical components are generally installed on a circuit board by a soldering process. Large sizes of solders are typically used to solder large components and small sizes of solders are typically used to solder small components. A conventional solder dispenser typically holds and dispenses only a single spool of solder without a soldering iron holder. A conventional soldering station typically holds a soldering iron without a solder dispenser. As a result, two or more solder dispensers and a soldering station are needed for a typical solder operation.
During printed circuit board repair or rework operations, a copper de-solder braid is often used to remove solders at component's leads before removing the component. A conventional solder dispenser cannot hold or dispense copper de-solder braids.
A conventional solder dispenser generally comprises of a solid base, two or three side walls, an open top or a removable top cover for loading a spool of solder onto a removable shaft which is then supported by the two sidewalls. Solder is dispensed by the rotational action of the shaft. Some solder dispensers dispense solder through a guided tube or a hole. Various problems exist with these kinds of solder dispensers that limit their use. For instance, if too tight, friction between the shaft and the sidewalls can prevent a spool of solder from rotating freely. The solder guide or the dispensing hole can jam a large diameter solder and cut a small diameter solder if not properly sized.
Conventional solder dispensers are mainly designed to hold and dispense only one spool of solder and none can dispense copper de-solder braids. If more than one size of solder is required during a soldering operation, several conventional solder dispensers would be needed. This arrangement does not allow for dispensing copper de-solder braids or provide support for a soldering iron and a cleaning sponge.
Known prior art soldering iron holders and solder dispensers include U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,623; U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,642; U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,795, U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,472, U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,318, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,050, U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,068, U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,709, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,590.
Therefore there exists a need for a soldering station that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. Preferably the soldering station provides a low cost, unitary piece, jam-proof, side loading, freely rotational device that is capable of dispensing more than one spool of solder and copper de-solder braid.